The BJP and the Sena, with 105 and 56 seats respectively in the new Assembly, are locked in a bitter tussle over sharing of power.

Mumbai: Maharashtra’s caretaker chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is confident of forming the government in the state with the support of Shiv Sena, sources said, adding that the BJP and the Uddhav Thackeray-led party had not agreed to a 50-50 formula for power sharing. Party sources said Fadnavis had denied there was need for a ‘Plan B’ even as the Sena continued to flex its muscle.

The BJP and the Sena, with 105 and 56 seats respectively in the new Assembly, are locked in a bitter tussle over sharing of power. Ever since the results were announced on October 24, there have been statements from sections in the Congress-NCP, though not officially, hinting that a move by the Sena to look beyond the BJP for government formation may get positive feelers.

The source said BJP chief and Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s meeting with Thackeray scheduled for October 30 had been put on hold, even as formal and informal talks with the Sena were on. No official date for the swearing-in has been decided yet.

On Monday, Sena leader Sanjay Raut had warned the BJP that it should not force the party to look for an alternative to form the next government in Maharashtra and asserted there are “no saints in politics”.

Speaking to a news channel, Raut said, “We believe in the alliance (with BJP) as we contested the polls jointly. But the BJP should not compel us to commit the sin of looking for an alternative for government formation.”

“No one is a saint in politics,” he added, possibly a hint to the senior ally that committing such a “sin” was not entirely unfathomable for the Sena. Raut claimed the two parties had agreed on an “equal power” sharing formula and had even made an announcement on it in Mumbai.

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